A thousand thank you's for all the wonderful reviews I received on the first chapter! I didn't mean to make you all wait this long for the second chapter, but you know it's finals time so life get's real. But really, I can't even begin to explain how thankful and appreciative I am for all the feedback I got!

Warning: This chapter alludes to both physical and sexual abuse. I may have to change the story's rating later on depending on how much detail I put into poor Mike's past.

Initially Mike was hardly awake enough to realize that he was now with a barely known man and being driven to somewhere that was clearly not Pearson Hardman, but now as the sleepy haze cleared from his brain he began to worry. "Harvey, where are we going?" He asked with and concern dripping from his voice. The little boy tried to mask his fear and replace it with boldness.

"Well I have no clue where you're staying, or if you even have a place to sleep, so I thought you could crash at my place. It would be easier for you to get to work the next day," he said throwing an extra incentive along with a warm smile. One look at the boy's face revealed he was stone cold and frozen in his tracks, no doubt reliving some horrible experience that left him scarred forever. Harvey felt a strange urge to reach over and assure him that everything would be okay and he would never hurt the kid; but he wasn't sure if that would cause more good than harm.

Mike seemed positively resolute to keep his face devoid of all expression. He couldn't let his weakness show because he knew that the predator would attack at the first glimpse of panic. Instead he held strong and adamantly declared, "I have a place to sleep and you can take me there right now. I will give your driver instructions." His eyes darted all around as he surveyed his surroundings and pulled up a mental map of the area. "Turn right at the next intersection," he told the older man and looked at him with an expectant glare.

Harvey was in no position to argue so he gave in simply to the little boy's demands, "Go where he tells you Ray." Besides, he was curious as to where Mike was staying; it wouldn't hurt either of them to let the child have his way. If in the end Harvey decided that it was unfit for the boy to stay wherever he was residing, then he would cross that bridge when they came to it.

When they arrived at the place the child had directed them to, Harvey's face fell. It was a condemned apartment building in a shady part of town. But as soon as the car stopped, Mike unlocked the door and hopped out hurriedly. But the usually not-so-caring lawyer was not about to let the boy go so simply; it's not that he cared or anything, he was just doing his duty as a good citizen. Wasn't there some quote about how it takes a village to raise a child? Well his input into this philosophy would be to not allow this intelligent seven-year-old boy to live in some condemned apartment. Don't get the man wrong, Harvey was only stepping in because he didn't want to waste the child's potential.

Harvey got out of the car as well and met Mike halfway to the entrance (which could hardly be called a door). "Hold on there kiddo, there's no way I can let you stay here. This place doesn't have electricity or probably even running water, and I can't just let a seven-year-old stay alone in such a dangerous part of town! We can collect any stuff that you have, but unless you have another adult you can stay with, you're gonna have to stay at my place."

His mind ran wild as the flashbacks started and his little fists clenched and shook in frustration, but not a single tear fell from Mike's eyes. He could handle this; he had a plan that had been proven to work before and it would work now. The child let out a shaky breath and looked at Harvey glaring into the cold dark eyes that he perceived. "Fine, but I have something I need to get."

The lawyer nodded and gestured for Mike to go ahead but that he was coming too. The little boy didn't seem particularly happy about this, but Harvey couldn't understand why. Here he was, practically saving this kid's life, and all the boy could muster was anger. Harvey was going to give him food, clean water, electricity, a warm shelter, and hopefully a bath (because the kid was filthy) and the little boy couldn't even say thank you? By now he would've thought that even if the kid had been abused, surely Mike could tell that Harvey had no intention of hurting him. He didn't have any experience with handling abuse victims, but was it really possible to be this mentally damaged?

Mike led the older man up a couple flights of stairs, during which Harvey held his breath like his life depended on it, and it probably did. The little boy was hoping that since the stairs weren't used to holding up fully grown adults, then maybe they would collapse and bring the intruder down with them. Fortunately for unsuspecting Harvey, the stairs held up and soon the two stood in front of a door that the little boy pushed open with ease.

Harvey swallowed a lump in his throat when he saw the lone mattress covered in stains lying in the corner of the room. The walls were bare and cracked and the only light to fill the room was the dying sun setting on the other side of the barred window.

The child walked slowly to the mattress, reached behind it and pulled out a baseball bat. He turned to face Harvey as he held it over his shoulder ready to swing if needed. Mike sucked in a big breath and stood tall and strong as he spoke with only a slight quiver in his voice, "Now you better leave the way you came right now or I'm gonna start swinging! I won't let you take me!"

The man's eyes widened at this sudden turn of unexpected events. "Mike, why are you threatening me? I only want to help you, I promise." Harvey held his hands up as if to further signify his harmless intent.

"I know what you really want! You either want to hurt me or touch me or both!" The boy yelled. His lip gave a slight quiver and his big blue eyes looked ready to water, but he was determined to stay resolute.

And at those words Harvey's heart gave a sickening twist within him and he felt like he wanted to throw up. Hurt or touch or both; the man couldn't believe his ears. This poor little boy in front of him had suffered such despicable things, and how in the world was Harvey supposed to fix this? Should he call Donna? Maybe a woman's coaxing would be easier; maybe the kid could stay at her house. Instead, Harvey attempted something totally out of character: he decided to try to comfort the fragile little boy in front of him.

"Mike, Mikey," he said softly remembering what Donna had called the child earlier that day. Just a few hours ago the boy had worn a completely different persona: headstrong and unafraid. And now, he was bursting at the seams. "I'm never going to hurt you, and I promise I will never touch you in a bad way," but when he saw Mike simply shake his head and shut his stormy eyes tight, he knew he had to prove it. "Mikey, remember how I only drove you to Pearson Hardman like you asked? And how I gave you a job? You worked really hard and did great; I think Donna would like you to work for her again. And remember how I brought you here just like you asked and I followed all of your directions? So don't you think you can trust me? You can even bring your baseball bat if you still want protection, but let's go home to my place. I've got some really yummy food, how does pasta sound? I'm sure you're hungry."

Mike cracked his eyes open and his grip on the bat loosened slightly. His stomach had been rumbling a bit; he hadn't eaten since Donna gave him half of her sub sandwich during the lunch break. But the little boy didn't respond as he was still torn between being cautious or trusting.

Harvey smiled encouragingly at the child hoping to win him over more. He took a step towards Mike and crouched down so he could be at eye level with the boy. "And if you want, you can even sleep in a big clean bed with lots of blankets; I guarantee it will be much comfier than that mattress on the floor."

With that last incentive, Mike's facial expression relaxed and he lowered his bat but still kept hold. He gave a little nod and whispered a small, "okay."

A grin spread across Harvey's face as he felt a satisfaction that he had never experienced before. It was a sense of victory, but much different from the victory he had felt after winning cases or scoring big at work. It was unexplainably much more pleasant.

"Can you hold my hand for when we go down the stairs?" he asked gently as the warm smile still clung to his face. At the moment he was too caught up in the moment to think about what Donna or anyone else would say if they knew he had held a little boy's hand, and it was worse since he was the one that asked for it.

Mike pursed his lips in a way that made him irresistibly cute as his face communicated that he was an independent boy, "I don't need any help; I've walked up and down those stairs lots of times." Yet the child slipped his small hand into the larger one anyway.

"Oh I know you don't need any help; I'm the one that's going to need help! Those stairs scare me!" Harvey told him. He was being truthful, maybe exaggerating a little bit as he added childish animation to his voice, but the tall man certainly didn't trust those stairs.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be afraid," the kid said sweetly with a little smile.

And that was when Harvey knew that this boy could break through his stone heart and win him over.

~Suits~

On the way home Harvey asked Ray to stop at the nearest store where he could find a tooth brush and kid's clothes. Mike had fallen asleep lying across the back seats, working at the firm must've tuckered him out, so Harvey was on his own in buying clothes he thought might fit the small seven-year-old. He purchased a pair of blue pajamas, a few long sleeve shirts, jeans, and even a jacket. At least buying the toiletries was easy since he didn't have to worry about different sizes.

Before Mike knew it, Harvey was gently shaking him awake and leading him up to a rich penthouse apartment. Dinner with a sleepy Mike went by just as quick and 10'oclock was right around the corner. Of course Harvey didn't know much about kids, but he knew that a seven-year old probably shouldn't stay up this late. But if he was going to let Mike sleep in his guest bed, then that kid needed a bath.

"Alright Mike, I think it would be a good idea if you took a nice warm bath before bed," Harvey said as he finished washing up both his and mike's plates. At this suggestion Mike's eyes widened to the size of a full moon and Harvey piped in quickly to clear up any misunderstandings. "Don't worry kid, you can take it all by yourself. There's some kid shampoo already in there, and don't forget to bring your new PJ's in so you can change after you're done. If you need me to start the bath water don't be afraid to ask, I promise I will leave right after." Harvey watched with a frown as the boy picked up his baseball bat and then the pajamas and carried both into the bathroom with him. He knew it would be hard trying to mend the kid's scars and gain his trust, but was it really necessary to bathe with a baseball bat for protection?

Ten minutes later the bathroom door opened to reveal an adorable Mike in his light blue pajamas holding his baseball bat. But rather than the bat being raised in defense, it was dragged carelessly by his side as he made his way to Harvey on the couch. "Where's the bed you promised?" he asked in a drained voice. All of his earlier confidence and demand were gone as the boy let his guard down for the first time in a long while.

Harvey was unable to hold back a smile at the cute child who was presented before him. "Right this way buddy," he said and then motioned as if he was leading the boy to a fancy hotel room. He led Mike into the spare guest bedroom and pulled down the covers for the boy to climb in. Mike did just that and laid the bat next to him and pulled the comforter back up. He watched carefully as Harvey said goodnight, turned off the light, and left the room. The skeptical boy felt the need to get out of bed and peek through the crack in the door and watch Harvey. He needed to know that this wasn't a trap; he needed to know that the man wouldn't come in later and do something terrible to him, but his strength had left him and he decided to try a little faith. Mike shut his eyes and let sleep take over.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and again, feedback in the form of reviews is much obliged! Let me know your thoughts, critiques, or even suggestions for what you would like to see in future chapters! I know the rough direction in where I want this story to go, but as of right now there is no definite story plot so if you guys have requests I will try to incorporate them!

And for the lovely reader82 that asked for me to update Conned by a Kid, I'm so sorry I've let that fanfic slip! I really love that story and I even know the outline for the next couple of chapters, I just got upset about the predicament of White Collar :( but I will try my absolute hardest to put up some more chapters especially now that school is finished!